Lawsuit by Knight's fans sent to court of appeals

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. {AP} The state Court of Appeals may weigh in on whether Indiana University improperly fired basketball coach Bob Knight.

In a ruling released Friday, special judge Cecile Blau granted the university's motion to let the higher court decide what triggers the law's requirement for an open meeting.

A group of 46 Indiana basketball fans claim university president Myles Brand broke Indiana's Open Door Law by holding two secret meetings with four university trustees the day before Knight, who is now the Texas Tech coach, was fired last September.

The university argues that the meetings were not required to be open because fewer than half of the nine trustees attended each one.

Attorneys for fans argue that the university intentionally abused the purpose of the open meetings law when it held back-to-back secret meetings.

Blau's ruling agreed with university attorney Ellen Boshkoff's argument that Knight's firing was part of a legally private process and that a public trial could harm the people involved.

The recent ruling prevents the case from going to trial until the appeals court decides whether to hear the case. Blau had ruled in July that a trial could proceed on the alleged open meetings violation.

The university said in a statement that the ruling is a procedural step.

Bloomington attorney for the fans, Roy Graham, said he and Hebron attorney Gojko Kasich are deciding how to proceed.

"If public officials can have these types of serial meetings to avoid the purpose of this law, then every citizen in Indiana should be concerned," Graham told The Herald-Time of Bloomington in a story published Saturday.

Knight was fired for breaking a no-tolerance behavior policy after he grabbed a student by the arm for referring to him by his last name.